Bags packed, we snapped one last photo and left for the hospital for our 7:30am appointment for induction.
As a boy I spent a great deal of time throughout the labor and delivery unit in the hospital, in a waiting room or doctor's lounge while Dad made his rounds to see his patients on Saturdays. As we stood outside the nursery windows, waiting for the nurse to buzz us in, a lot of those memories came back. The level of security sure has changed since then.
They brought us to room #3, handed Tia a gown, and told her she'd be hooked up to the monitors in a few moments. Gravity finally set in for us at that moment. Room #3 was going to be home for us until Hayden was born. At 7:35am Hayden was hooked up to a heart rate monitor and Tia to a contraction monitor. By 7:47am Tia started having contractions before they had a chance to give Tia the pitocin. The contraction monitor is the bottom portion of this picture, and the big jump at the right was her first contraction.
Our doctor was delighted by the labor starting on its own, and at 8:40am she broke Tia's water to help speed up the contractions. By 11:15am Tia decided it was time for an epidural. As I watched I thought to myself, "wow, this is one of the many things Elizabeth and John do all the time." By around noon Tia was dilated 5-6 cm and with the pain long gone, things were progressing nicely. The nurse checked on Tia a little before 5:00pm and she was fully dilated, and she told Tia it was time to start having a baby.
Our doctor cancelled the rest of her day and joined us.
After several hours of pushing, things were looking promising. Dad came to visit us briefly. The nurse discussed the lower back pain Tia was having, and Dad immediately say, "He's OP (face up, not face down) and the back of his head is pushing down on her spine." The nurse disagreed, they went back and forth a few times, and he went back to join Mom in the doctor's lounge. Another half an hour of pushing put him in a better position for our doctor to confirm he was indeed face up. I texted Dad. He responded, "I told you so!!!!!"
8:40pm was rapidly approaching and things weren't progressing as they should have by that point. Our doctor warned us we were reaching the limit for what she would allow before we'd need to discuss other options. Tia tried until a little after 9:00pm and our little guy just couldn't come out. We scheduled a cesarean and ended up having to wait about 45 minutes for the anesthesiologist, while Tia continued having contractions. After determining this I stepped out and called Toby and Claire to let them know what was going on, as they'd been waiting since about 7:00 thinking we should have a baby by now. I put on the scrubs the nurse gave me, and as they took Tia to prep for surgery and I went to visit the Pitt / Jackson clan who were all waiting in the doctor's lounge. Then Dad and I hung out outside of the surgery room until they came to get me.
As I walked in to the surgery room I wondered how many thousands of times Dad has walked this very walk to this very room to perform a cesarean. When I walked in I was surprised by how many doctors and nurses were in the room. I sat down behind the sterile barrier next to Tia's face and grabbed her hand and was startled to find her awake, which was a bit of a surprise. It felt like an hour had passed by the time we heard our first little scream, and suddenly at 10:24pm, there he was! Our doctor held him up for Tia to see, and was quickly swept away to be cared for by the pediatrician and nurses. 
After he'd been weighed and measured, I got to hold him, so I promptly took him to Tia for a few moments before they took him to the nursery.
On the way to the nursery the Pitt / Jackson clan got to meet Hayden briefly. We took a few pictures, and then Hayden went for his first bath. I chose a little yellow knitted beanie for him after his bath and we hung out by the viewing windows. I gave him a nice little mohawk before his hair dried. Mom and Reba watch while Dad shoots the photos.
Hayden Rhys Pitt was born 20.5" long at 7 lbs 9 ozs.
Tia decided by Friday it was time to leave, so we packed our bags, handled his birth certificate paperwork, and asked them to add Hayden to their online site for new babies. This is Tia trying to get just the right photo.
Here's the link.
After the photos were finished, I packed up the car and we put Hayden in his carseat for the first time.
Finally home!!!!
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